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Recycling Robots - A Look Inside the World's First AI Waste Management Centre “Last month Peltomaa's vision finally came to fruition, as a recycling centre on the outskirts of his hometown opened in a small industrial park. Tonnes of construction and demolition waste was brought into the warehouse and three workers were placed by the conveyor belt, ready to sort through the rubble. As the conveyor belt rumbled into life and the first load of rubbish began to make its way towards the workers, Peltomaa, Lukka and Valpola knew they were about to witness a revolution in recycling.” (International Business Times)

Site Plans For $20M Southington Recycling Plant Up For Review On Tuesday “A site plan for a proposed $20 million recycling plant will be reviewed Tuesday by the planning and zoning commission, which two weeks ago approved a special permit to allow the use of a 37-acre parcel off Spring Street. ‘The site plan is the next step in our application process with the town,’ Amy Kessler, executive vice president and head of legal and regulatory affairs for Turning Earth LLC, Pennsylvania organic recycling company that proposed the $20 million facility. Its partner in the plan is Covanta, a trash-to-energy waste management company.” (The Hartford Courant)

Michigan Lawmaker Wants Tar Sands Waste To Count As Renewable Energy “A Michigan lawmaker wants to change his state’s renewable energy standard to include some rather unconventional fuels. State Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R) is sponsoring a bill that would alter Michigan’s definition of renewable energy to include plastic waste and petroleum coke, a byproduct of tar sands refining. The aim of the bill is to ‘remove unnecessary burdens on the appropriate use of solid waste as a clean energy source.’ Nesbitt told Midwest Energy News that he thinks burning things like plastic waste and petcoke for fuel would be a logical alternative to storing them in a landfill or having them pile up along rivers.” (ThinkProgress.org)

Fire at Republic Services waste transfer station in Kalamazoo closes part of Cork Street “When hydrants closest to Republic Services waste transfer station in the 3400 block of Gembrit Circle failed to work properly, firefighters closed a stretch of Cork Street Saturday morning, June 14, to drag hoses across the road to hook up to hydrants there, Lt. Lance Handlogten of Kalamazoo Public Safety said. The fire started at approximately 4:10 a.m., and firefighters from Kalamazoo Public Safety, Comstock Fire and Kalamazoo Township Fire responding to the fire arrived to find a large pile of burning trash inside the building.” (MLive.com)

Message in a bottle: Producers not taxpayers should pay for the waste they generate“Have you ever wondered who was paying to recycle that plastic bottle you just threw away? Until recently, it would have been collected and – to the extent possible – recycled by municipalities with the use of public money. But this is changing and today most used bottles are managed directly by their manufacturers.” (OECDInsights.org)

Recycling Coalition Opposes New Recycling Plan “The Indiana Recycling Coalition is speaking out against Mayor Greg Ballard's latest recycling plan. IRC Executive Director Carey Hamilton says while the Mayor's plan is better than nothing, the city can still opt for the "gold standard for recycling." Hamilton says providing recycling carts in front of every home and telling people how to use them remains the best approach. She says their approach has a 36% recycling rate compared to the 23% recycling rate under the Mayor's program.” (WBIW.com)

Sludge dumped at W.Va. landfill has radiation“A state environmental official says Marcellus shale drilling sludge dumped at a landfill in Harrison County has a low level of radiation. Division of Water and Waste Management director Scott Mandirola says the sludge contains a fraction of a year's acceptable radiation exposure for workers. Mandirola says Waste Management won't be cited for dumping the sludge at its Meadowfill landfill.” (WKYT.com)

Augusta garbage issues unresolved a year into new solid waste contract “A year into Augusta’s weekly solid waste contract, missed pickups are down but unresolved service and fee issues continue to plague the city. The switch last June from twice-a-week collection got off to a rocky start as haulers took on new routes using trucks powered by compressed natural gas to service customers using new containers on a different day of the week.” (The Augusta Chronicle)

Waste-to-toys: the growing market for eco-friendly, high-quality toys “This very concern later inspired Barber’s business, Luke’s Toy Factory, a startup making eco-friendly, sustainable and safe toys from recycled, organic materials. Barber and his now adult son, Luke, who designs the toys, use an organic wood composite using sawdust, rice holes and wheat straw— waste materials outside the food stream, and combine this with plastic. ‘The toys then feel and act like wood—durable and attractive, and yet contain 40% less plastic than conventional toys,’ Barber explains.” (The Guardian)

New habitat takes root above old Ohio landfill “Who would have thought that 200 acres of rot could amount to anything good? Taking a tour of the former Lake County Landfill, operated from 1929 to 1993 on the Kirtland-Chester Township border, will make you a believer.” (SFGate.com)